Taming the Cat
by lionetspirit
Summary: Does Amu have what it takes to tame a cat with the help of a fiesty Queen? Amuto. 4-6 chapters total
1. Daydreams, interrupted

**Taming the Cat**

_Yes, it's another Shugo Chara fanfic! I was having such a hard time writing in first person, I wanted to start another story! This is going to much shorter though. At this point, it will most probably be a two-shotter. Maybe three. Just a short break from my usual stories that develop the characters feelings over a long amount of time. So this will be mostly Fluff! But that's what we love :)  
_

Enjoy the read! Please read and review!

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**Taming the Cat, Part I:**

.:Daydreams, interrupted:.

_Amu and the Curious Queen_

Strands of soft pink hair floated wistfully against the gentle spring breeze. Hinamori Amu rested her head on her arms which now leaned upon the iron bars surrounding her balcony. The night sky was beautiful; despite the bright lights of Japan, the stars shone with such luminescence that they sparkled with clarity.

Amu's mind wandered as she sunk into the sensation of the cool wind stroking through her hair. She could imagine Tadase's smile lighting everything around her in a warm glow of sweet love. The single moment that he stood there right before her, causing her whole world to sparkle with stars, just like how the blanket of celestial fires covered the sky. She could feel him getting closer- her heart beat faster just waiting for his lips to reach hers. She could smell his scent as she lost herself to those beautiful dark midnight blue eyes.

"Ta…da-" Wait.

"I-IKUTO?!" Her drooping eyelids shot open instantly. "What? What is he doing in _my_ daydream?" She drew back from the railing, retreating into her room.

"Amu-chan! What's wrong?" Ran watched Amu slam the sliding door shut behind her.

"Could you be sick desu?"

Amu headed straight for her bed and flung herself onto it. "Ughhh…" She dug her head into the pillow.

"Are you okay?" Miki tapped her with her miniature blue paintbrush, causing the pink-haired girl to finally turn over with annoyance.

Suu floated over, concern clearly swept across her face. "Amu…do you have a fever desu?"

"What? Why?" Amu sat up, brushing away her Shugo Charas.

"Your cheeks are so red!" Ran replied, joining the two in their scrupulous staring at the girl's face.

"N-no th-they're not!" She sputtered before once again sinking her face into her pillow. "I-I'm going to sleep!"

She pulled the blanket over herself, and crawled into a ball.

With her hand covering her ears to fight away her thoughts, Amu fell deaf to Miki's remark.

"Amu's been acting like this ever since Ikuto tried to use his Dumpty key on her Humpty Lock."

Concerned, the three charas had a thorough chat about the mysterious powers of the items late into the night before falling fast asleep.

--

The next day after school, Amu attended the regular Guardian meeting in the Royal Garden. With her honey-colored eyes focused on the regal Tadase, the pink-haired girl barely noticed Rima watching her.

"You seem off lately." The somewhat snobbish girl said casually as Amu got up to leave.

The pink-haired girl winced.

"You always seem like you're in such a rush to leave afterwards." The two male guardians watched Amu carefully as the girl listened to Rima's words. Yaya paid little attention, as she was now very focused on Kusu Kusu's tricks.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Just…gotta take care of stuff at home is all." Amu carelessly slung her bag over her shoulder, resuming her Cool-and-Spicy tone. "Now if you'll excuse me."

Turning away, she nearly managed to escape the careful stares of the Guardians, but a whisper by her ear left her stiff in place.

"You were staring at the Prince today." Rima lulled in her fake innocent voice.

"Did someone say PRINCE?!" Tadase shot up, immediately character changing with Kiseki. "I AM NOT A PRINCE!"

His body flamed with its usual anger distracting Kairi, the greenheaded Jack's chair and Yaya the childish Ace chair, just long enough for Amu to recover from her sudden blush and inability to move.

Quickly dragging Rima with her, Amu darted out of the Royal Garden. The blonde struggled to get free.

"Amu, what's going on?!" She finally pushed away Amu's hand around her sore wrist now that they were some distance away from the others.

"It's nothing!" Amu hurried away. Her footsteps patted against the ground in a fast beat. Her Shugo Charas however, remained right beside the blonde haired girl.

"She's been like this ever since Ikuto tried to use the Dumpty key on her lock." Ran remarked.

"Ran!" The sound of her footsteps immediately stopped. Annoyance was clearly laced in Amu's voice. She crossed her arms, grumbling slightly. "Come on guys, before I leave you behind!"

"We were hoping you could cheer her up desu."

"With Kusu kusu maybe."

"We were up late last night trying to figure out what to do!" Miki seemed a bit peeved.

Rima watched them blankly. "The Lock and Key were brought together?"

"Guys I'm going now!" Amu threatened.

"Amu! Why didn't you _tell_ us anything?"

"Because it's none of your concern! It didn't work anyway." Amu began stomping back toward them, her arms stiff at her side.

"It's not your fault it didn't work…" Ran approached Amu awkwardly.

"No need to be so touchy about it." Rima muttered quietly.

"For the hundredth time!" She snapped back. "I _told_ you that's not it."

"Then what _is_ making you so antsy? What's making you stare at Tadase-kun with such guilty eyes?"

Amu shuffled uncomfortably in place, her hands now folded together as she twiddled her thumbs nervously. Awkward silence fell between them. Even Ran, Miki and Suu watched on curiously in the tense atmosphere, not uttering one word. Even her own Shugo Charas had no idea what ailed her to this extent.

"It's all Ikuto's fault!" She fumed suddenly, taking Rima by surprise. "It's all his fault for interfering in my stupid daydream!"

"Oh? Daydream?"

"I mean, uh…"

"Interfere…don't you mean interrupt? Care to explain?"

"N-no!" Amu's hair whipped her face as she turned to face away from Rima. Her cheeks were fast becoming as rosy pink as her hair and she strained to keep them at an appropriate shade.

Rima strolled towards the girl, who was now biting her nails. Swiftly, she swiped the girl's hand away from her greedy teeth causing Amu to stare up at her with utter horror as she just realized exactly how close Rima had gotten. Only inches from her, Amu's expression was easily read.

"Oh, fine!" Amu groaned, defeated under Rima's unrelenting gaze. "He somehow managed to…"

"To?"

"To…sneakintomyromanticdaydreamwithTadase." The girl turned beet red after speaking.

"Excuse me?"

"I _said_," the bright faced girl groaned yet again, "He sneaked into my romantic daydream with Tadase."

Amu suddenly gasped and quickly brought a hand to her gaping mouth. "I didn't even realize…I can't believe I just _told_ you I like Tadase!"

"Oh please, as if all the Guardians don't already know." Rima rolled her eyes. "Now what I'm interested in is what this_ Ikuto_ actually interrupted in the dream."

"Uh…"

"Hmm?" She crossed her arms expectantly at the blushing Amu.

"I was about to kiss…him."

"Tadase?"

"Uh well…" Amu stared down at her foot. "_not just him..." _She whispered it under her breath and luckily, her friend had not heard. Suddenly catching herself, she continued more loudly. "Sorta…yeah?"

"And then?"

"And then he interfered."

"Hm? How did he interfere?"

"He sorta erm…" Whatever he sorta did, Rima could not hear through the sputtering girl's mutters.

"-_Mutter mutter-_"

"What?" She finally said annoyed after straining to listen. "And to think you got me interested too." She growled in agitation.

"Will you tell me clearly already? What did he do? Did he appear and punch Tadase? Did he pull you back? What could he have 'sort of' done?" The blonde grabbed Amu's shoulder's nudging her a little harshly to speak. Her curiosity had been peaked.

"He BECAME Tadase-kun OKAY?!" Amu snapped, pulling away from Rima's grip.

"Eh?"

"Well, rather Tadase-kun became him. He sorta just transformed into Ikuto."

"Oh?"

Amu glared at Rima upon hearing the tone of amusement. "I was gazing straight at those eyes, about to kiss him."

"Ikuto?"

"No, Tadase!" She gripped her bag tightly, looking away. "And then right as we were about to kiss…I saw dark _blue _eyes, not those russet ones!"

"Ohh. So mean to say you were daydreaming about kissing _Ikuto_."

"N-no! Ta-da-se!"

"Who transformed into Ikuto."

"Exactly." Amu sighed, slightly relieved. "_Now_ you get it."

"Meaning," Rima's eyebrows furrowed together slightly. "…you'd rather kiss this other guy than Tadase-kun."

**THUD!**

"N-no!" Amu was now bright red. Whether it was from embarrassment or anger, Rima was uncertain.

"Well, you _did_ see him rather than Tadase right as you were about to ki-"

"Stop that thought. I don't even want to think about that with that pervert!" Amu's words finally silenced the queen of arrogance, who now smirked on quietly. The color of the girl's cheeks told Rima otherwise.

"Oh, don't smile like that Rima! It's not like I like him. I bet it's all because of that time he tried to open the lock and got so close that I could smell his shampoo in his half unbuttoned shirt exposing his incredibly nice chest or at least I think that's what I saw but it was only partially opened at the top so I couldn't really tell but it really did look nice on him and then it got all sparkly and pink and stuff around us and I didn't really know what was going on but then I finally knew and -"

"AMU! Stop ranting already!" Rima sighed, arms tired from shaking the girl senseless to get her attention and voice now cracking after having to scream for so long.

The now breathless girl stared completely dazed at her blond friend who was also trying to catch her breath. When they had finally recovered, sweet silence came, much to Rima's relief.

Finally, it was the Queen that spoke. "It's seems like you've got a real thing for him Amu."

"W-what? Ri-ridiculous! I _soo _don't!"

"Uh huh." Rima stared at her rosy friend's blushing face. "I'm sure that you seeing sparkles in the air has nothing to do with the fact that you're falling in love with him."

"Like I would like that perverted cat man!"

"Cat man? Oh yeah. Who is this Ikuto by the way?"

"Eh? We've been talking about him for this entire time and you don't know who Ikuto is? I thought you've at least seen him before."

She shrugged. "I don't bother remembering anyone who isn't worth remembering."

"But you knew he had the Dumpty key." Amu pointed out.

"Of course. Considering Ran had just told me."

"Oh."

"Well?"

"Oh right. You do know him. You know, the guy who works for Easter…cleans up the X eggs for them. Has an annoyingly clingy sister named Hoshina Utau who's all over him by the way, if I might add. It's absolutely disgusting how she wraps her arms around him so possessively like he belongs to her. She really is something for pinning him down like that and kissing him right in front of me-"

"I mean, for…doing something so disgusting in public with her own brother!" Amu coughed. Rima continued to stare at her with a raised eyebrow.

"So you don't like him you say…"

Another cough.

"Okay then Amu. I want you to bring me to see this _Ikuto_."

"Eh? But I haven't seen him in days! Not since— "

"they tried bringing the lock and key together." Ran finished her thought.

"Unless you're too nervous to go see him…" Rima challenged smugly.

"O-of course not! But what's with the sudden interest in him? Nothing ever interests you like this unless it's some tacky joke or something."

"They're _not_ tacky." She growled. "I pride myself in only the best jokes!" Tidying up her dress, she drawled. "I guess you really _are_ too afraid to go talk to him."

Pouting, Amu roughly grabbed onto Rima's hand. "Come on! I'll bring you to see him _right_ now."

"Good girl. I want to see who it is that's making you_ this_ flustered. Seems like he's worse than Tadase."

"I am not flustered!"

Rima continued talking, completely ignoring the blushing Amu. "I guess you must like this _Ikuto_ more than you like Tadase."

"I-I d-don't like Ikuto!" She tugged on Rima's hand even more forcefully.

"Love then? No need to be bashful."

Amu nearly choked on her spit, coughing as violently as she did.

"My, my. It seems like our little Amu is growing up." The blonde whispered to the floating charas. A smirk played on her face as her friend quietly though quite grudgingly led her away.

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Til next time!


	2. The Crazy Cat Lady

**Taming the Cat**

So apparently, this story will end up being between 3-6 chapters. At this point, it's either a 3 or 4 chapter story unless you guys want it to be slightly longer.

Read and review please!

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**Taming the Cat****, Part II:**

.:The Crazy Cat Lady:.

_Seeing Ikuto vs. Meeting him _

"Amu-chan! Amu-chan!" A red chibi floated around the pink-haired girl in circles.

"Will you just _SHH_ Ran?" Amu sent her an annoyed look then proceeded to direct her gaze at her other two Shugo Charas. At this, the calm headed Miki and the nervous Suu struggled to wrap their hands snugly around Ran's mouth. The cheerleader flailed her arms and kicked all she could but only managed to let a muffled scream escape. Finally feeling her muscles loosen up, Miki and Suu slackened their grip.

"But I still don't get why AMU DIDN'T TELL US SHE LIKES IKUT—" Miki noted never to make the same mistake again – that is, to let Ran speak so carelessly when Amu was clearly agitated.

Amu turned to send Ran a death glare, but her eyes fell on the floating blob of red, blue and green fused together. Miki and Suu looked up nervously, waiting for Amu to turn away, before they finally hissed to their companion.

"Do you _really_ want to get punished?" Miki's words almost silenced the struggling girl. Just almost.

"--_muffle muffle--"_

"Nani?" Suu inquired, pushing away Miki's hand from the girl's lips. The blue chibi groaned slightly at Suu's thoughtless action, glad that Amu was too distracted at the moment.

"I said, Amu wouldn't do anything like that. She wouldn't hurt us and you know it!"

"Ran, who said anything about _her_ hurting us? If I remember correctly, she _does_ have this Chara-torturing monster sister named Ami…" As expected, the nosy hyperactive cheerleader guardian finally piped down, her small face was drained of color. Suu reacted quite similarly, and even the blue-clothed speaker now regretted unnecessarily bringing memories of torture into her own mind as her cheeks became ashen.

"Good. I'll be sure to treat you guys to something nice afterward. Just as long as you stay quiet." Amu's words were hushed, but made them jump no less. Her fingers were settled against the rough surface of the tree trunk she was hiding behind but in her anxiety, she began scraping off the outer layer of the trunk without noticing the movement of her own itching fingers.

"Amu. What are you doing back there?" Rima stood out in the open, both hands against her hips as she stared at the girl in hiding.

"COME BACK!" She hissed from the shadows of the tree. "Ikuto will _see_ you!"

"That's the point. You brought me here to meet him didn't you?"

Amu raced into the sunlight from her hiding place, raising an arm to block the bright rays. Stomping over to Rima, she reached for her wrist and roughly pulled her back into the shade with her. "No. I brought you here to _see_ him. You didn't say anything about wanting to _meet _him."

Rima narrowed her gaze at Amu. "_Darn loopholes_." She mumbled quietly to herself. Regaining her composure, she stood tall with her chin raised. "I suppose that's true."

Her words calmed the tense Amu just slightly. The pink-haired girl's fingers finally stopped their constant scratching against the innocent tree as she turned towards the proud girl to flash a relieved smile. But just as she did so, Rima's eyes sparkled with a glint of something that made Amu draw back. The blonde's face revealed a sly smile.

"Tsukiyomi-san!" The shrill squeal directed Amu's attention away from the unsettling expression of her friend and onto the two figures who stood beyond the trees, on a cemented pathway within the campus of a certain high school.

Amu suddenly gasped, her eyes finally catching the scene before her more clearly. No, it wasn't exactly two figures. It was more like one combined silhouette seeing how the redheaded girl swung her arms around a blue-haired teen's neck and pressed herself so closely against him. They stood in the middle of the path despite the large number of people surrounding them who were just leaving the looming building of grandeur architecture.

Rima did not react to her gasp but continued to watch Amu, unamused. "So you come here often?"

"…"

"Only lately…" Ran casually remarked, before cupping her hands around her mouth in horror. She looked at Miki and Suu apologetically.

"Ah. That explains why you've been leaving the meetings so quickly."

"Amu?" Rima's words were still met with silence. Finally, she allowed her eyes to wander towards whatever Amu was so focused on. Her mouth gaped slightly at the disgusting scene, before she quickly closed it and feigned total indifference. "Goodness, what's so interesting about a groping couple?"

She turned back to the pink head. "Amu? So what's this I hear about you stalking the poor guy lately like an obsessed fangirl?"

"Huh?"

Rima stared at her friend with disbelief. "I was sure that would've gotten you're attention."

"Uh r-right." Amu pulled her eyes away from the scene, face tightening in a grimace. "It's nothing like that. I haven't actually seen him these past days like I told you before. This is the first day I've actually seen him here. I just…sorta wanted to know more about him after that whole lock and key incident, so I've been trying to get out early." She stared at the ground, her right foot wiggled against the dirt, tracing a fluid path resembling the number 8.

"Amu-chan…"Ran voiced her concern.

"Really, I was just trying to find out more about the person who owns the Dumpty key." She tried to convince her charas.

"This isn't like you!" Rima interjected, with annoyance clearly evident in her tone. "Where's the denial? The stutters? The assurance that what I said was absolutely ridiculous? I don't like this calm explanation. It isn't even the Cool and Spicy Hinamori Amu."

Amu looked up at her, the expression in her eyes causing Rima to be confused.

"And why is your tone so dull and cold?"

Amu gulped. "O-oh, it's n-nothing." She swept her hand at the empty air as if brushing away her thoughts. It was silent for awhile.

"Eh, I'm bored." Rima finally spoke choosing not to press further. "So when am I going to see this Ikuto?"

"You already have." She pointed at the two teenagers still standing in place. Yoru was now seen floating beside Ikuto's head. He had apparently been seated against his other shoulder, previously hidden from view.

"Nani?!" Rima screeched, eyes wide before she finally turned back towards Amu and sent her a sympathetic look – quite the rare thing from the Ice Queen.

"W-what Rima?"

The blond continued watching her.

"Stop staring at me like that. I already told you, I _don't_ like him."

"I haven't even said anything. You're the one who brought it up."

Amu groaned, sinking her head into her palms. "Well whatever. I don't! So I couldn't care less about that girl."

"…Didn't say you did."

She could feel her cheeks grow warm under Rima's gaze so instead of having to confront the girl, she turned her attention back on the scene while trying to cool her blush.

"So what do you say?" The redhead hopped up happily, some inches away from Ikuto.

"No!"

"Come on! Why won't you go to the Junior Semiformal with me?" She whined.

"I said _no!_" At this, the girl brushed away the long strands of hair from her neck, unbuttoning the top of her shirt. "I'll even…make it worth your while."

"What a slut!" Amu screeched, not at all missing the movement of the girl's knee slowly pressing up Ikuto's inner thigh.

"A…mu?" The dark haired teen took a step back from the persistent girl, his deep azure eyes carelessly scanning the wooded area in the distance. Amu stayed hidden, heart beating rapidly at her sudden outburst. "_What on Earth possessed me to do that?_"

"You like him, that's why." Rima stated, voice clearly triumphant as she leaned against the tree trunk next to the girl. She raised her arms away from herself, as if about to stretch.

"N-no I d-don't!" Amu tried to deny again, but found herself suddenly stumbling and tripping toward the ground.

"Rima?!" The conniving blonde had pushed her out of their hiding place, leaving her to stand very awkwardly in the open. Ran, Miki and Suu hovered uncertainly behind the tree trunk which was now spotted in the places Amu had unrelentingly peeled away at the bark.

"Maybe _I'm_ just here to see him, but that doesn't mean _you _can't meet him Amu."

"You didn't have to _push_ me Rima." She growled. "I can't believe you'd do this!" Her voice trembled – half from anger, and half from nervousness.

"Amu? Arguing with a tree?" Ikuto approached her, but before he could get too close, she quickly ran to meet him for the fear of Rima being discovered. As embarrassing as it was for her to be seen rushing practically into Ikuto's arms, it was much better than having to explain that Rima was here to meet the guy who interfered with her daydream and flustered her to no end. As if she would give him that satisfaction.

"Excited to see me?" A smirk adorned his face causing Amu's cheeks to blush an uncontrollable shade of red.

"Aww so cute! Is this your little sister?" The redhead flung her arms around Ikuto, pulling herself closer to him.

Amu's eyes immediately narrowed at her in a sharp glare.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow at Amu, clearly amused before coughing slightly. "Ehem." He roughly brushed away the pair of arms clung against his own, trying to pry the girl away. "No, my sister's much more annoying. This is a friend of mine."

"Oh, okay!" The girl replied happily, not at all perturbed as if Amu wasn't even a threat. The pink-haired girl growled slightly at the thought and watched as she leaned against the dark-haired boy who sent her a lazy glance.

Amu immediately stiffened up, eyes growing wide at the girl's obvious actions. How she leaned closer toward Ikuto, pressing herself to him made Amu discover a wide range of cuss words she didn't know she possessed. Before she knew it, the pink-haired girl had let the two words seethe through her gritted teeth.

"_You hoe._"

The figure shot up suddenly, eyes narrowing just slightly to scrutinize Amu who had suddenly looked away with very rosy cheeks. Bending slightly to face her, the redhead spoke quite threateningly. "What did you say?"

"What's a hoe Amu-chan?" Ran chirped in the background. She had approached them some time ago though Amu had been too distracted to notice before. Amu groaned, quite aware of the fact that while her Shugo Charas were invisible to the promiscuous girl, they were not in any way invisible to Ikuto, no matter how much she hoped at this very instant.

"Dontchya know? It's a farming tool with a flat blade coming out at a right angle nya." Yoru hovered in front of the three charas who were now completely ignored.

"Ohh!" The three chimed, impressed by the now smug cat. Even Miki could not contain her sudden expression of respect.

Meanwhile, the redhead was still waiting in silence for Amu's answer. The quiet girl slowly let her eyes return to the redhead, but for an inexplicable reason, settled on her chest as she patted against her own flat one.

"She's a _close_ friend, Takahashi-san." Ikuto said ruggedly, settling himself beside Amu. "So I'd appreciate it if you didn't scare her like that."

"I wasn't scared!"

He slung an arm around Amu's shoulders and then slowly drew his hand back to allow it to trace the back of her neck. He swept his hand gently to the front of her neck and brought it to her chin, lifting her head slightly to meet his gaze.

Amu's honey colored orbs glimmered in the sunlight as she fought the oncoming blush to no avail.

"Right, _Amu_?" Her name rolled off his tongue in a way that made her involuntarily shiver.

"I-Ikuto!" He pulled her to his side in one swift motion. "Y-you p-pervert!"

"Tch. Says the kid who was staring at a girl's chest."

"I w-was not!" Amu's face heated up like a boiling tea kettle with steam practically emanating from her glowing red face.

"Uh. So I'll see you around Tsukiyomi-kun…" The redhead said somewhat awkwardly, trying to avoid looking at Amu. Picking up her bag which she had all too easily dropped in order to glue herself to Ikuto, which Amu had noted, Takahashi dashed away, waving one hand playfully back at the dark-haired teenager (though wincing slightly when she had caught Amu's gaze) before walking past the tall black iron gates of the school and into the street.

It was quiet between them. Absolutely quiet. Amu thought she would die from this silence, not to mention from Ikuto still holding her against his side, but she was even more fearful of what could actually be said between them.

"Such colorful language for a kid, Amu." Such as something like that.

The anxious girl immediately slipped on her disguise, casually shrugging off his arm before coolly replying. "Hm? And what exactly are you referring to?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, his smirk all too evident to the girl whose Cool and Spicy character was just beginning to fail under his gaze.

"Oh, come on! She totally _was _one."

"I don't think she looked like a farming tool desu."

"Suu! You're _not_ helping."

"Hmm Amu. Getting a little _jealous_?" He cooed huskily, smirk still plastered ever so smugly on his face.

"N-no of course not!" As if spotting a slut in the making meant that she was in any way jealous. She just pointed out the obvious facts!

"Is that so?" He watched her lazily, responding to the thoughts she had accidentally let slip. "What was with that shameless staring by the way?"

"Uh…" She gulped uncomfortably.

"…Amu. You couldn't be…interested in _girls_ could you?"

"I-w-what-no!" Her muscles were tense and her lips were pressed into a thin line. She could feel the air around her face heating up at an incredible rate.

"…though that'd explain the interest in the Kiddy King." Ikuto mused, completely ignoring Amu's denial though he watched her now gaping expression from the corner of his eyes.

"Pft! Tskk argggrrrpftt-pshhh!"

"Amu says 'Shut up pervert, I am interested in _only_ guys otherwise I wouldn't have been comparing my-' "

Amu let out a hacking cough, slightly bent over to catch her breath as she rested her hands against her knees. Ikuto stared incredulously at the calm Miki, clearly impressed.

"I'm her. What'd you expect?"

"Nya!" Yoru let a dreamy sigh escape from his mouth.

"So…" He turned his attention back to the rosy Amu. "Comparing your what?" He drawled the words, waiting for Amu's response in amusement.

Hack, hack, hack.

She was now clutching her chest desperately. His grin grew wider, eyes following her hands. Finally deciding to let it go so that Amu would not have to end up suffocating with her constant coughs, he moved on. "So what are you doing here today? Miss me much?"

"--_cough, cough, cough--"_ So much for letting her catch her breath.

"Amu says it's none of your business." Miki calmly translated.

Ran scoffed. "Even though we've been here about everyday since last week now."

"Ran!" Amu had somehow miraculously recovered her voice and it bellowed more loudly than usual.

"Oh?"

"I-It's n-not like I came to see you!" She exclaimed, hands clenched tightly against her side.

"But I thought that's why we brought Rima desu."

Amu groaned, face now probably more red than it had been her entire life. "You don't help _at all._ So _please_ stop trying!"

"Can Rima come out now?" An uncertain jokester floated towards them.

"Ugh. _Not another one!_"

"Kusu Kusu!" Amu's guardians beamed, not at all noticing that the pink-haired girl was now hiding her burning face in her hands.

"Hm. An older guy Amu? I dunno…seems like a player." Rima had apparently stepped out anyway, having been so thoroughly bored. She paused for a minute, relishing every second of Amu's scarlet face. This was entertaining at the very least. "Besides, I'd think that Tsukiyomi-san can do better than that."

Amu's head shot up, and she sent a piercing glare towards the smirking blonde. Ikuto watched the girl curiously with a similar grin on his face.

"I-w-what are you talking about?! I already _told_ you that I don't -" Her eyes suddenly went wide, just catching herself in time.

"Hm? That you don't what?"

"That she doesn't like you." Rima replied dryly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"O-of c-course I don't!"

"Is that so?" Ikuto quickly cupped Amu's cheek, inching closer and closer to her face. She mentally kicked herself to move but her body refused to listen. His breath was upon her face and tickled her pink tinged cheeks as she stared into those deep blue eyes, just like she had in that dream…

"Guess your dreams are coming true, eh Amu?"

Ikuto pulled away to stare at the speaker. "Hm. Dreams?"

"_Maybe if you weren't here."_ The pink hair girl growled under her breath.

"Excuse me?" Rima challenged, eyes clearly glinting with evil. Pure evil.

Amu recognized that look, and quickly covered Rima's words: "_And here I came specifically to see the man of your dreams_" with her own screeches.

"I said, PERVERT COSPLAY CAT MAN!" Ikuto smirked, suddenly wrapping his arms around her waist as he settled behind her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, completely silencing the girl.

"Well I don't know Amu. You must be pretty perverted yourself to let him do that to you…and enjoy it."

"I-I d-don't _enjoy_ it!" She stuttered in panic. Ikuto finally released her and now stood before Rima. "You two are absolutely evil! It was planned, all planned! Hey…listen to me!"

The two were apparently quite involved in their introductions. They were now shaking hands and Ikuto wore the most peculiar grin on his face. One that was usual reserved for Amu…

"She's just too much fun to tease." Rima remarked, clearly entertained. This was so much better than waiting behind a stupid tree like a stalker.

"HEY!"

"Isn't she? You're pretty interesting for a friend of Amu's." Ikuto said all the while smirking.

"Likewise to you."

"H-hey! W-what do you mean by i-interesting?" Amu grumbled in the background, completely ignored. Or so she thought. But in reality, the two watched her, resisting their chuckles at her flustered state.

"So Mashiro-san, why the sudden visit?"

"Hm? Sudden? Amu's been here all week apparently. I just came today to see who – "

"SHH RIMA!" Amu groaned, quickly ran over to cover her mouth. "She wanted to see who has the Dumpty key!" Before allowing either to speak, the blushing Amu roughly pulled Rima away. "Uh, gotta go Ikuto! Ja ne."

She mildly heard the teenager call behind her: "Quite the friend you have there!" Amu responded only with a grunt, miserably dragging along the pompous Queen who had seemed a little too friendly with the cat man.

"_I can't believe he called her interesting. He said he was interested in me! Did he do that on purpose? Did he mean anything by it? Did he carelessly say that to me without thinking?"_ And so continued her grumbles, though the nonresistant Rima only caught onto a few words.

"Jealous?" The blonde mused.

"W-what? Pftttt! N-no friggin way! It's just annoying that he got along so well with you. He never gets along well with anyone!"

"Eh, he seemed to be getting along pretty well with that other girl."

Amu immediately snapped back. "Well she was _obviously_ a slut! And he rejected her about a million times and she _still_ wouldn't take a no. Besides, it's not like he wrapped his hands around _her_ or almost kissed _her_ or in any way remotely showing interest like he did with you when he took your hand like that and watched you with those beautiful eyes of his as if there was nothing else in the world even though I was standing in the back totally screaming my head off to try to get his attention but _no,_ he was just so _interested _in you that he didn't even notice that—"

"AMU!"

"What! You don't have to yell so much!" The pink haired, pink cheeked huffing girl held her hands against her throbbing ears.

"You're jealous! Just listen to yourself!"

"W-What! Ridiculous! I…" Amu caught Rima's expectant look, mind just beginning to settle on what she had carelessly rambled.

"Oh. My. God. I'm jealous!" Rima rolled her eyes at her. "I'm _jealous_ because of that perverted Cat man."

"Mmhmm." The blonde stood still, watching Amu bring her hands up against her head then back down in panic. She paced back and forth, arms awkwardly positioned as if she had no idea what to do with them.

"I recall you muttering something about your dreams coming true if I hadn't been there…?"

"No, no, no! I can't be _jealous_!" Amu screeched, still dealing with the truth. Even her Shugo Charas looked a little impatient by this time, clearly having figured out Amu's feelings before she did.

"Amu…I think there's more to consider than you just being jealous. For one," Rima paused for effect, bringing a finger thoughtfully to her cheek as if it really took that much effort to come up with what she was about to say. "Why don't you think about what would _make_ you jealous to begin with?"

Amu cocked her head to the side. "Eh? You don't think being jealous is enough? I think that's cause for plenty of anguish as it is."

Rima tapped her foot impatiently. "Amu! How about considering your _feelings_?"

Her honey orbs went wide. "_Feelings_?" She squeaked. "I like Tadase! Tadase, Tadase!"

"Okay, you don't have to say that so many times."

Amu groaned, expression of horror slowly making its way to her face.

"There you go. Seems like you realized it." Rima said, after seeing her face contorting into a scowl. They had exited the campus of the school and were now headed towards Amu's house.

"But I like Tadase! I like Tadase! I like Tadase!"

"…O-kay A-mu. Try to persuade me when you've finally convinced yourself next time."

"I'm trying! But none of my Shugo Charas believe me!"

"Tch. Maybe cuz you're in love with Tsukiyomi and not Hotori-san?"

"But he's such a _pervert_!" She whined. And just as suddenly, another realization hit her causing her to freeze midstep. "Oh, God. Does this make me a perverted cat lady?!"


	3. Cat's Got Your Tongue?

**Taming the Cat**

Enjoy the read! This story can be finished within the next chapter or two, but most likely I'll drag it out just a little bit more and make it 6 chappies.

Read and review!

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**Taming the Cat, Part III**

.:Cat's got your Tongue?:.

_Amu steps up  
_

A pink-haired girl paced around, feet patting repeatedly against the hardwood floor. She took ten steps from the door to the glass pane that led to the balcony. When she had covered the length of her bedroom, she quickly turned around, feet sweeping without hesitation at the motion.

Rima narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Will you stop that already? It's making me dizzy!"

Amu barely noticed the complaints of her pompous blonde friend and continued on with her indistinguishable mutters. "I'm a crazy cat lady, a crazy cat lady! Oh God!"

As grateful as the Queen was to her bestfriend, who had given her the courage to speak her thoughts to her parents thus allowing her to visit Amu's home this late, Rima never had much patience to begin with. The very immature antics of her friend was trying the little patience that she had.

"AMU! Why don't you just save us all the time and trouble and just accept it already?"

Wrong move.

"_Accept_ it, Rima?!" She stomped over, glaring at the calm girl. "Ican'tjustacceptit! Because it's not true! I'm in love with Tadase-kun!" Her low mumbles now transformed into incoherent shrieks. "Aarggbekauzaaayuu! Aargwahjuzzadreembuhanobauggderrr!"

Her three charas looked on with concern, exchanging soft whispers with each other. Yes, it was true. Their lovely master had officially lost it.

"Arg because of you?" Ran's face was tightened in a grimace as she tried to study Amu's words. "Oh.._All_ because of you." Her expression brightened and she turned to Miki for approval at her success.

"That was wonderful desu!"

Suu was clearly impressed, but the artist only sighed, once again stepping in to translate. Floating over to the groaning Rima who held her head in her hands, the blue chara spoke. "Amu says it's all your fault. It was just a stupid dream but you turned it into a big deal."

"If you say so Amu." Rima rolled her eyes at the girl, now thoroughly too tired to convince her otherwise. "Well, even so, are you sure you'd want Tsukiyomi-san to go to that dance with that girl, Takashi?"

"WHAT?!" Amu's honey orbs shot open. "He's going to the dance with her?! Didn't he reject her?" And just as soon as she had let those words escape, the pink-haired girl let out a cough and looked away. "A-as if I care!"

But Rima in no way missed Amu's blush. Neither did the blue-haired teen who knelt beyond the balcony door. His cat ears had perked up at her words.

"Yo."

"I-I-Ikuto!" Amu's face burned up at an incredible rate, now probably hot enough to cook an egg with its heat. "W-w-why a-are y-you here today?!"

Rather than greet the arrival of the catman, Rima shot a suspicious glance at the flustered girl barely able to cover up her own surprise.

"_Today_?" She questioned, gaze boring into Amu's darting eyes. Knowing how Amu really was, Rima would have figured the girl would be most likely screaming her lungs out that someone had just snuck in through her balcony.

"Eh, I was passing by anyway. Besides, Yoru wanted to see one of your Shugo Charas. The blue-headed one I think…what was her name?" He shrugged.

"No I didn't! _You're_ the one who said you wanted to visit Amu!" The neko Chara denied, though his cheeks were tinted pink. Despite his words, Yoru wasted no time floating over towards the other Charas, heading straight for a certain blue chibi.

Amu rose to her feet, completely ignoring Rima. Stomping towards Ikuto, she shoved him back towards the balcony door. "Why couldn't you pick a better time you pervert?" She screamed.

"Oh? Like when? What exactly did you have in mind Amu?" Suddenly, his lips were by her ears. He bent slightly forward and he breathed out his words against her pink cheeks.

"N-n-nothing!" She took a step back, but was too slow. Ikuto's mouth followed, just catching the tip of her ear before she moved away. He nibbled it lightly, causing her to stagger back and nearly fall over as she let out a squeak.

"Eep!"

"Careful now." He whispered into her ear, wrapping an arm around her waist to support her. Meanwhile, Rima who normally would have been in quite a frightening mood for being ignored for so long was rendered entirely speechless at the scene. Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth parted slightly; but she soon recovered and forced her jaw shut as she attempted to look away.

"I-Ikuto! Now's n-not the time!" Amu yelped, forcefully pushing Ikuto away from her. Her cheeks were bright red as her palms made contact to his sturdy chest.

"Oh? So there _is_ a time for this?" Ikuto questioned, smirking as he casually slid his hands into his pockets.

"N-n-no!" Amu huffed, still shoving the catman out the door. She had managed to spin him around with her fumbling hands but he leaned backwards, resting his weight against the girl who now pushed his lean back with her palms. His tone was dripping with fake hurt. "What? You can visit me but I can't visit you?"

Amu's knees nearly buckled at his weight, but just as soon as she began toppling over, Ikuto stood straight and carefully swept her around the waist. He pulled her closer nudging his face against her warm cheeks. Her cheeks flared and heart pounded. A muffled squeak escaped her lips as she shielded her chest with her arms.

"L-Let go you pervert!" She struggled to push his arms away.

"Aww, you're being so cold. Don't you care?" He teased, breathing a warm moist breath against her cheeks. Her face immediately shot up a few degrees.

"N-no, of course not!" She squirmed in his grip, now trying to beat his arms.

Sighing heavily, he loosened his arm just slightly and spoke. "I'll be back tonight then, _Amu_." He leaned close to her ear and gave it a slight lick.

"I-I-IKUTO!" Her body went stiff and she visibly shuddered. "W-wh-y-you." She struggled with her words, trying to rail at the calm blue-haired teenager who was was already halfway out the balcony door.

"What's the matter Amu, cat's got your tongue?" Rima finally interrupted, finding the perfect opportunity to witness Amu face glow as brightly as a lantern.

"Mashiro-san," He said with a slight nod of approval. "I guess I _will _be going to the dance with Takashi-san afterall."

Rima replied with a nod of her own. "It can't be helped." A slight grin settled on her face as her eyes met Ikuto's subtle wink.

The tall figure turned to Amu with his hands still stuffed casually in his pockets. His soft hair fell against his eyes which were narrowed at the pink-haired girl. Pursing his lips just slightly into the all too familiar smirk, he spoked again. "Later _Amu._"

Less than a second later, he disappeared from view with Yoru. His lithe body jumped off of the balcony, already descended onto the street.

"R-RIMA!" Amu flared with rage.

"Yes?" She said calmly. As expected of the Ice Queen.

"I can't believe you just- ARG- why did you do that?"

"Excuse me?"

"You basically _told_ him to just go with Takashi!"

"I thought you didn't care?" Her tone was challenging. Still, the blonde did not even spare Amu a second glance.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I _want_ him going with anyone else!" She groaned.

"That sounds like you care Amu." Miki noted coolly, eyes focused on her sketchbook. She was quite relaxed, now that she knew that Amu's parents had taken Ami out of the house.

"Amu-chan loves Ikuto!" Ran sang happily, before she linked arms with Suu and began dancing with the green chara. "Amu-chan loves Ikuto desu!"

"No I don't!" Amu denied, hands still tracing the corner of her damp ear.

"Hmm?" Rima shot her an interrogating look, watching her fingers delicately brush against her pink-tinged ears.

"I-I'm j-just wiping off the sp-spit!"

Rima's eyes only grew wide at her words. "I thought it was just a kiss on the ear." Her own cheeks blossomed a faint blush.

"Nope. He licked her."

"RAN!"

"Yes, he does seem to do that a lot desu."

"SUU!"

"Well, usually when he comes to visit at night."

"At night…?"

"MIKI?! You _too_?" Amu shrieked, causing Rima to plug her ears. Miki looked satisfied, smiling just briefly into her drawing before the fuming girl swiped a hand at her three guardians. "_Come back here you guys!_" She growled, trying to whack at them like flies.

"R-Ran…didn't you say Amu would never hurt us desu?" Suu floated forwards with her arms extended in front of her. "Ahh! Amu's scary!" Beads of tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she tighly shut them and floated blindly forward in panic.

"Ahhhh!" Ran screamed, her skirt now caught between Amu's two fingers. "Take Miki, take Miki!" She desperately grabbed onto Miki's bag, but the blue chara shot a sharp glare at her before smacking her hands with her sketchbook.

"Hmph!"

All this time, Rima looked on, seemingly unamused though her lips did curve up slightly at its corners. She curled a finger at her own Chara, signaling for her to float over. Quietly, she whispered. "Kusu Kusu, take notes. We can use this for our comedy act."

A few minutes later, a loud crash echoed the room with Amu landing on her face and two Shugo Charas sitting smugly on top. The other – Suu, was trapped within Amu's hands, having been successfully sacrificed by Ran.

Rima's golden locks hid her expression but she was now seated on Amu's bed with an elbow against her knees. She leaned into her palm, looking extremely bored. She finally spoke when the chaos subsided. That is, when Amu was too breathless to continue the chase or scream at her Charas and when her Charas were too exhausted to keep flying around.

"So what's this I hear? Visits late at night? Licking your ears?"

"I uh…" Amu scrambled to her knees, kneeling against the floor. She played with the hem of her skirt, not meeting Rima's gaze. "Oh. God." She groaned, becoming a living furnace.

"Time to admit defeat Amu. My, my. From the way he was _holding _you, I can see why you're so flustered around him." Rima stated, ears glowing a dull pink.

Amu slumped against the floor, sliding forward as she let her body brush against the ground before she was completely flopped on the floor face-down. "_Why_?" She whined.

"Why is he going with Takashi?"

"No why this pervert? What's _wrong_ with me?" Her words hit the wooden floor, muffled to all the others, but Miki soon came to translate.

Rima gingerly hopped off the bed, and landed beside the girl. She folded her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs as she watched the mass of pink hair shift only slightly in recognition of her sudden presence beside her moping bestfriend.

"There, there." She said mildly, patting Amu's back emptily. It was the closest thing to sympathy Amu would receive from the Ice Queen.

"I can't believe he's going to the dance with Takashi! Didn't he reject her earlier?" Amu groaned, her forehead growing as pink as her hair by the minute at being squashed against the floor. She peeled her head up and turned to Rima, eyes shaking slightly.

Rima watched her friend wearily, a little disgusted by the idiotic image of the design of tree rings pressed into Amu's forehead as she stared up at her with trembling lips.

"Ugh…Amu. It's just so simple." Rima rolled her eyes at the girl. She carefully brushed off the surface of her pleated plaid skirt of her uniform as she stood up.

"It is?"

"Yes, it is." Rima sighed, now reaching for her phone. She flipped it open. "Allow me to demonstrate."

Amu slowly got up and sat on the bed beside her friend. She looked at her phone curiously as the blonde zoomed through a list of names without so much as even looking at the screen.

"I think I'll stop here…" She announced, finally releasing the down button and giving it a mild glance.

"MS#36? What's that supposed to mean?" Amu wondered at the name. But Rima hadn't heard her, or chose not to answer and simply pressed down on the dial button with her thumb.

"Hello? Yes, it's Mashiro-san. It seems to be getting a bit late and I'm at a friend's house." The blonde paused briefly, waiting. As if getting the expected response, her signature smirk made its way to her face. "Yes, she's a girl. Now if you don't mind, I need you to take me home."

She pulled the phone a fair distance away, wincing slightly. Even Amu could hear the voice on the other line. "I-I'd l-love to Mashiro-sama!"

"Address?" Rima turned to face Amu, looking entirely serious. As Amu told her, she furrowed her brows over her honey-colored eyes in confusion at Rima's strange actions.

"Yes," The Queen spoke into the phone, confirming the address. "I expect you here in no less than 15 minutes."

Without another word, she clicked her phone folding it back down. "And that, silly Amu, is how it's done." Her eyes were closed, a narrow grin played her lips and her chin was raised into the air.

"Did I just miss something? What did MS#36 stand for anyway?"

Rima sighed. "It seems as if you hadn't caught on to that lesson at all." She rested her hands on Amu's shoulders, eyes displaying disappointment. The pink-hair girl stared at her friend, restless at her extreme solemnness as she waited for her to continue speaking. Rima's lips were pressed hard together into a thin line, causing Amu to worry.

"That of course, was man servant #36."

Amu nearly fell off her bed.

"_What_ Amu?" Rima looked absolutely annoyed at the Joker's sudden grimace. "Look, all you have to do is call Tsukiyomi-san and order him not to go with Takashi."

"You mean tell him."

"No, order."

"Tell."

"No, _order._" The blonde stubbornly averred. She sighed heavily. "I really do suppose my techniques are too elusive for your simple mind."

Amu crossed her arms and pouted, not quite sure what Rima had said though not at all pleased with being called 'simple minded.'

**Ding-Dong!**

"Well, it's time for me to go, Joker." Rima stated dryly. Amu's anger was suddenly forgotten as she immediately stood up and grabbed a hold of the blonde's hand.

"Rima, what am I going to do?"

The blonde watched her pleading expression with amusement. "Well, if you can't make him a man-slave, you can always try playing on his cat instincts." She shrugged Amu's hand away, as if giving away the carefully planned piece of advice without much thought – a simple slip or passing of words. And it worked like a charm.

"Rima, that's perfect!" Amu's face lit up and she jumped over to hug her friend.

"Watch the hair." Rima snarled.

"S-Sorry." Amu replied sheepishly. She watched the blonde pick up her bags, before leading her out the door.

"Bye Rima!" The pink-haired girl cried, as she stared at the backs of Rima and a furiously blushing boy from Seiyo. Man servant #36 seemed to be doing his job. He had immediately taken the bag that Rima had extended towards him the moment the door was opened, and now, he could be seen opening the gate in front of the Hinamori house for the pompous Queen.

"Huh, same old Rima." Amu closed the door behind her with a small smile. She leaned against it, with her arms folded behind her. Her mind played with the idea of Ikuto as man servant #1. "Impossible." She chuckled, dismissing it without a second of serious thought. "Rima's tricks might not work for me, but that cat thing sure does sound interesting."

Indeed, Ikuto Tsukiyomi was not one to command. Amu found it more likely to be the one tricked into being ordered around by Ikuto rather than the other way around. He was however, as much of a feline as a real cat, wild and feral as he was.

But, as Rima had said, that can be fixed. Amu just had to step up and try to tame the cat.


	4. Human Cat Toy

Sorry it took so long! I started writing this chapter awhile ago, and most of it was done but it took me awhile to come up with ideas to finish it.

The next chapter should be the last one!

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**Taming the Cat, Part IV**

.:Live Cat Toy:.

Amu shifted uncomfortably in place, nervously playing with the hem of her dress. Her movements caused a light series of jingles to emanate from the two bells that adorned her hair. She held the phone to her ear, all the while trying to settle her tapping foot- a habit she had picked up at times of anxiety. "Are you sure about this Rima? Don't you think this is a little much?"

From the other line, the blonde's strict and confident tone almost made Amu jump. "It's _fine_ Amu. Older guys are into this kind of thing. The outfit is awesome – cute, but in a mature way with all the bells and whistles to attract any cat."

"Yeah, literally." Amu groaned, now noting the weight of the pair of bells attached to the ends of her lacy makeshift ribbon belt.

"I doubt he'd be able to resist that long ribbon trailing behind you in the wind, or those tempting bells. And the combination of black and red works quite well."

"…Rima…" Amu's voice was uncertain.

"Relax. You're practically a human cat toy. It'll be a breeze to get him interested."

"I'm not worried about that! I already know this works. I've been chased around by stray cats all day!" Amu groaned into her cell phone. "I just don't _want_ him to be interested in me like a toy!"

"Yes, yes, yes Amu. We've had this conversation. I know you have it bad for him an- "

"I don't have it 'bad' for him."

"Don't interrupt. I'm not going through this whole denial thing with you again." Rima sighed on the other line. "I know you don't want him to see you as some kind of play thing – that you want him to take you seriously but honestly, you've got to start somewhere. Without the proper ammunition to have a fair fight against the other girls, I mean, there's_ no way _you could beat that girl's chest..."

"Hey!"

"…so you should be more than glad to make use of that cat side of his."

Amu stood uneasily. The Queen's words had been a splash of cold water to her ego – harsh and stinging. Rather than being encouraged, she found herself losing confidence by the second. Rima was right. She _did_ have it bad for him. Oh, and that whole insult about her chest was true too…

Yes, just more of the harsh truth that made Amu regret the fact that she had decided to follow a certain smug blonde's advice.

Hidden behind the shadows of the wooded area of the familiar campus, Amu swept the sole of her shoe against the dusty ground still thinking. One hand was pressed against the tough tree trunk where its bark was gradually chipping away as she peered from its side, the other hand held the phone unsteadily against her face.

The same tree that had hidden Amu and Rima only a week ago from the curious eyes of the crowd of high school students had accumulated its injuries from Amu's nervous habits of peeling away the bark each time she had watched a certain redheaded girl get too close to her target.

A lean figure lazily walked across the concrete path some distance off with a bag slung casually on one shoulder. Dark strands of cobalt blue hair swept carelessly across his handsome face, framing his defined jaw and mysterious azure eyes. Amu's vision focused only on the teenager who walked on languidly without a care in the world. Her knees gave way when he turned around as if he had just caught sight of her. She pressed herself closer against the tree trunk for support.

"Amu…Earth to Amu. What's going on? Why is your breathing so heavy?"

The pink haired girl's cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson and she forced her breathing to slow down.

"N-nothing!" Amu cried into her cell phone, quickly shielding herself from view. Whether Ikuto had seen her, she wasn't sure but she _was_ certain that Rima was rolling her eyes at her at this moment.

"He's there isn't he? It's been a week already and all you've done is stalk the poor guy!"

"It was _your_ idea!" Amu huffed.

"No, my idea was to take action, not to stand on the sidelines. Look Amu, there's no point in following him if you're not going to _do_ anything."

"But Rima…I can't let him see me like this. He'll laugh at me, or tease me!"

"_That's_ your problem. You've gotten too embarrassed or flustered to do anything! Besides, you've gone through the entire school day in that dress and it wasn't so bad right? I've given you all the advice I can. I've lent you everything that I'm able to. The rest is up to you. Remember Amu, you have a simple mission. Tame. The. Cat." With those final words, Amu heard the expected dial tone.

Sighing a heavy breath of air, she closed her phone. "…didn't even say goodbye."

"Amu-chan, are you alright desu?" A green chibi floated towards Amu's face, followed by a red and a blue Chara wearing equally concerned expressions.

"I…I'm okay." The girl responded, slipping the phone back into her backpack.

"Just go for it!" Ran cheered, swinging her pom-poms around.

"Yeah Amu. It's about time. You can't keep missing all the Guardian meetings." The blue-haired Chara crossed her arms. "Now that you're sure about him, you have to go for it!"

Amu looked at her guardians nervously, now leaning against the tree trunk panting slightly at the thought of her confrontation.

"Hmmm Miki? Maybe you should follow your own advice." Ran teased knowingly.

"Wh- what are you talking about?"

"Oh! Miki has chosen Yoru over Kiseki as well desu!" Suu chirped happily.

"I-what?"

"You're blushing." Ran floated over to Miki and poked her cheeks.

"No I'm NOT!" Amu's unexpected scream caused her three guardians to turn around and watch her with curious glances. The girl had one hand pressed against her chest and her face was glowing a lovely shade of pink.

But before she could settle her racing pulse, Ran's sudden warning returned Amu's attention onto Ikuto. "Oooh, it's that girl again." Her red chibi flared with almost as much annoyance and anger as Amu was feeling. The girl stomped one foot forward while clenching her fist.

"Take her down Amu! You can't fail with the clothes Rima and I designed."

"That's the spirit Miki!" Ran threw her arms into the air, laughing at Miki's unusual excitement. The calm and collected Miki was only so passionate when it came to her designs.

"I…I'll do it tomorrow!" Amu whimpered suddenly, stepping back and hiding behind the tree. Ran and Miki exchanged narrowed glances and smirks while Suu smiled on before the three pushed Amu's shoulders without warning.

Amu stumbled out into the clearing and fell onto her knees. Looking up, she could see a crowd of girls surround a suffocating Ikuto. Glaring at the scene, she brushed away the dirt from her legs before getting up.

"_Amu?_" Ikuto's deep voice was easily heard over the high shrills of fawning girls. His widened eyes met hers. "What are you doing here…again?"

Without breaking the gaze, Amu narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "Nothing much. Just doing an experiment."

In the background, several feminine voices cried out in opposition and confusion.

"Who's that?"

"Is she a student here?"

"How does she know Tsukiyomi-kun?"

Ikuto excused himself and stepped away from the girls, still not looking away from Amu. After walking away from the crowd, his fangirls dispersed with much disappointment.

Pulling her eyes away from his gaze, she closed them and leaned against the tree with her arms crossed. "I see you're enjoying yourself." Amu spat.

"Oh?" A smirk played across Ikuto's face. "Jealous?"

In less than half a second, Ikuto hovered over her with his arms resting above her head against the trunk. He had her pinned against the tree, only inches away from her blushing face.

"D-don't b-be ridiculous!" Amu huffed, turning away from him. Her body was tense; even though Ikuto was not touching her, they were close enough for her to feel his body heat against her skin.

"That's a shame _Amu_." He faintly blew the words into her ears. She immediately spun around, trying to shake off the stirring sensation that tingled her sensitive skin.

"A-and why's that?"

"Because _Amu_…" Ikuto leaned in closer, just mildly brushing his own cheek against hers as he allowed the tip of his lips to slide against her burning ear before he spoke again.

"Eep!"

"Because I would have asked you to the dance instead." He immediately pushed himself back up and faced away from Amu. Slipping his hands casually in his pockets, he began walking away. "But I guess it's no use inviting kids, huh?"

Amu stumbled forward in a daze, resulting in the light jingle of bells in her hair to resound. Staring at the figure who was walking away, she brought her hand mindlessly against her ear before giving into a full body shiver.

"By the way, Amu." He stopped walking, still facing away from her. "Love the bells and cat ears."

His words brought her back to her senses, and the pink-haired girl was immediately jerked back to reality.

"I-Ikuto!" She jumped in place as she called after him, but he was already a fair distance off. Though his receding figure walked on calmly and steadily, he was slumped slightly forward.

"Oh darn it!" She groaned, dropping to the ground. Her fingers flicked the two bells attached to her hair, causing them to ring melodiously. Gradually, she traced her hand over the furry pink ears of her headband sighing heavily. "That plan failed miserably..."

"Of course it didn't Amu!" Miki floated beside the girl. "He said he loved it! Of course he'd love the outfit. It was tailored for male cat preferences!" She announced proudly.

Ran snickered in the background and whispered secretly to Suu. "Yeah, she tested it on Yoru first."

"Tch. And where were you guys when I needed you?" Amu grumbled with her cheeks still rosy pink as she watched the other two approaching Charas.

"We wanted to give you privacy of course." Ran chirped. "So, so?"

"So…what?" Amu snapped back. "You guys saw everything didn't you?"

Without waiting for an answer, Amu scrambled to her feet and roughly grabbed her bag. Her three Charas followed in concern, trailing behind her as they fought to keep up. Without much thought, Amu walked towards the campus – now very familiar to it after the two weeks she had spent there after school.

"Amu, it was working! You should go after him." Ran pleaded.

"What are you talking about? Didn't you hear him call me a kid?! I'll always just be a kid to him!" Amu huffed, before taking a deep breath of air and continuing her angry stomping across the main pathway of Ikuto's high school.

"Ran's right you know. Didn't you see how he looked at you differently the moment he saw you?"

Amu paused mid-step. Her glares directed onto the floor softened slightly. She gripped her bag, signaling for Miki to continue speaking.

"Come on! Even all the Guardians who saw you today at the Royal Garden couldn't recognize you at first. They all thought you could've passed for at least 15 or 16."

"It's true, it's true desu!" Suu immediately interjected as she observed Amu's expression slowly change. Her pink hair fell over her eyes as she lowered her head in thought.

"You even had a trail of boys following you!" Ran raised one arm in the air.

"Amu, trust me, the clothes did not fail!" Miki pouted, crossing her arms in front of her but Ran soon floated over and gave her a slight nudge.

"_You're supposed to be cheering her up, not defending your designs!"_

"I AM cheering her up Ran!"

"Amu-chan, he wouldn't have done anything like that if he only thought of you as a child desu." The green colored chibi spoke meekly and her face was adorned with a rosy tint as she recalled Amu's compromising position against the tree trunk while she was pinned down by Ikuto.

"It's obvious." Miki snorted. "He was all over you the moment he saw you."

Amu lifted her head and raised her gaze to meet her Shugo Charas. Her mouth which was previously pressed into a straight thin line, now curved up slightly. Her golden eyes gleamed in the sunlight, sparkling with emotion.

"It's all because of my designs you know." Miki gave her master a slight wink.

At her words, Amu stole a glance at her cute black and red dress. The skirt was layered and adorned with subtle frills along the edges. It was fell short against her knees – a decent length, yet still short enough to be in style. The design was simple for the most part. The cutting was done well. The wide neckline of the dress exposed her dainty collarbone with the cloth draped above her chest.

Amu skipped lightly along the pavement and gave a slight twirl to her watching Charas. "Thanks guys. I guess I'll just have to try again with something else."

Little did she know exactly how effective the fluttering ribbons and tinkering bells of her dress were. Completely unaware of the cat man who watched her hidden from a distance, she skipped along the path before she was suddenly followed by a crowd of interested high school boys.

Ikuto watched from the shadows, impassive but a low growl made its way to his throat.

The red satin ribbon trailed fluidly behind her as she continued skipping with a wide grin. "Nothing to be down about Amu," she chirped to herself. "Besides, I don't think this dress looks half bad on me."

"No it doesn't miss…Amu."

A low voice caused Amu to immediately snap her head back in alertness (not to mention a certain man watching from the distance to intensify his growls). The speaker was leaning casually against the wall Amu had just walked past. His dark ebony hair shone with a silvery sheen in the bright sunlight, sharp and jagged as random strands poked out in all directions. A strong jaw line framed his handsome face, but his most striking feature was his emerald green eyes.

"Who are you?" Amu asked abruptly as soon as she was done studying his features.

He grinned, causing a light blush to sweep across her cheeks. "I'm a student here. My name is Akio Yamabuki."

She barely noticed the group of boys behind her who groaned in disappointment at the sound of the man's name, before they scattered away from the scene, clearly resolving that they had no chance against the green eyed Knight of their school.

Instead, Amu scrunched her nose, trying to figure out why his name sounded so familiar.

"I don't understand why everyone is so interested in Tsukiyomi. He never seems to have the time of day for any girl who approaches him." He leaned away from the wall, approaching the confused pink haired girl.

"I'm not interested in him!" Amu quickly denied, crossing her arm over her chest though the color of her face said otherwise. "I'm just…curious…" She trailed off, speaking more to herself than to Akio.

"That's good." He ran a hand through his hair, before offering a smile. "Cuz if I was him, and there was a girl like you…well, let's just say I wouldn't hesitate for a second."

Amu blushed crimson, unable to meet Akio's gaze. She stared at her hands, fiddling with her thumbs as she tried to work out some sort of response.

"Amu, focus! Ikuto's getting away." Miki urged on.

"But Akio _is_ cute, neh?" Ran prodded her cheek, trying to get her master's attention.

"Ran! Don't give her any ideas!" Miki chided.

"Says the Chara with a million love interests, Miss Indecisive."

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

In a matter of seconds, Amu was no longer even included in the conversation as the two Charas continued their argument and the third, kindhearted Suu, tried to stop them to no avail.

"So Miss Amu…"

"Just Amu." She squeaked, getting quite uncomfortable being called 'miss.' Had she thought it through, Amu would have told him to call her Miss Hinamori instead, or even just Hinamori, but with the shade of her cheeks and the immense amount of blood flowing to it, it was difficult for her to think properly.

"Okay Amu." He offered a hand and a gentle smile, catching her golden eyes before they darted back down towards the direction of the floor. "Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

She looked up, surprised and momentarily forgot her shyness.

Chuckling, he took her hand and lightly grazed his lips over it.

"Yamabuki-san!" She hiccupped.

"No need to seem so surprised." He drawled with a smirk. His green eyes twinkled with glee. "And call me Akio."

Slightly taken back by his resemblance to Ikuto, Amu couldn't help the blush that was spreading furiously across her face. Although she remained quiet, she was only too aware of the conversation her Shugo Charas were having.

"Amu, I don't think you really want to go with him desu." Suu floated languidly in the air.

"What would you know Suu?" Ran cried, hopping around.

"But Amu-chan likes Ikuto-kun, not this person desu."

"She's right Ran," Miki said with a nod approval to Suu. "It'd be pointless to go to the dance if she isn't with who she wants to be with."

"But Amu can go with Yamabuki and win Ikuto over _at_ the dance." Ran chirped, full of energy at the idea of being able to go to a real dance.

"Isn't that just using Yamabuki?" Miki noted, but Amu had already made her decision. Ran had a point. And it wasn't like she was using him, she _was_ somewhat interested in him, considering how nervous she was acting around him – she just wasn't _as _interested in him as she was in a certain cat boy.

"Well Amu? Will you grace me with your presence at the dance?" He eagerly asked, still holding Amu's hand in his.

"O-kay." She replied somewhat timidly.

"Great!" Akio said with a large smile plastered across his face. "I'll meet you at the school entrance at 7:00pm on Saturday, the night of the dance."

"Sure." Amu responded, with a small smile of her own.

"We'll show that Tsukiyomi what he missed, huh?"

"Hmm…what I'll miss eh?" Ikuto noted as he sat on a tree branch. His threateningly low growls had gradually escalated throughout the conversation, but his tone was gleeful as he directed the question at the innocent girl. He was curious about Amu's strange actions lately and had decided to stick around for awhile longer to observe. His cat ears were out and fully alert for even the slightest sounds, allowing him to catch the conversation between Amu and Akio, as well as some snipets from her Charas. "I'll be waiting for it Amu." He whispered to the oblivious girl, with a wide smirk adorning his face.

But the smirk was immediately wiped off from his face as he observed Akio giving her another quick kiss on the hand before running off with a curious wink. It wasn't the fact that the green-eyed little conspirator had stolen a kiss from _his_ Amu's hand (okay so it did bother him a bit), but it was Amu's reaction that annoyed him.

Amu was left standing alone at the scene, looking quite dazed as she rubbed her hand with the other.

He just didn't like the expression on her face. And he'd make sure to interrupt their little date before the dance even began.

"_HSSSS"_ Just try to mess with Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

Oh lord, had he just hissed? He had _never _hissed before. The dark haired teen groaned as he proceeded to hop off the tree branch. He needed help.

And he knew just where to get it.

Smirking, Ikuto reached in his pockets. Amu did have interesting friends after all.

* * *

Two hours later, after much wandering around the streets and the ceaseless racking of her brain for a new brilliant plan, Amu was found inside a pet shop. She had been replaying the scene of charming Akio kissing her hand, reliving the sudden rise in her heart beat and the bright blush that blossomed on her cheeks.

But that was all there was to it. The light brush of his lips against her hand made her nervous, but it didn't leave the same tingling sensation on her skin that she experienced with Ikuto. Actually, the longer she dwelled on the scene, the more convinced Amu was that she did _not_ like Akio.

And it did not settle well with her that she really _was_ just using him to get Ikuto jealous.

Amu shuffled uncomfortably in place, staring blankly at the kittens playing near the display window.

Well, there wasn't really anything she could do about it now right? She really _would_ have canceled her unexpected 'date' with Akio, if she had a way to contact him.

"Don't worry Amu!" Ran appeared with her pom-poms, trying to cheer up the girl.

Amu groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead.

"I…I can't believe I just agreed! I should have said no!"

"Told you so." Miki noted.

The pink-haired girl shot her a glare before her expression fell into a slightly desperate one. Feeling a little sympathetic, the blue chara spoke with a resigned sigh. "Well, you couldn't really help it Amu. Once you start blushing, you don't think much. I'm surprised you even managed to respond properly without stuttering."

Amu sent her another glare. "Gee, thanks. I feel a whole lot better now."

"You should. At least I'm not blaming you." Miki said curtly without giving her a second glance as she returned sketching in her notepad. "_Even though it IS your fault."_

The girl's shoulder slumped slightly, feeling absolutely miserable for being such a person. Sure, she didn't understand what her true character really was – which explained why she had three Charas- but she at least understood what kind of person she didn't want to be. Whatever her 'real' self was, it wasn't one that resorted to these petty tricks.

…Right?

The sudden sound of the chiming ring of her cell phone drew Amu's attention back to where she was. Languidly, she reached in her pocket and brought the device to her ear and heard the exact voice that she expected to hear.

"What Rima?"

"Geez, what's _your_ problem?" Rima scoffed with annoyance at the tone Amu was using on her. Not that she didn't suspect the reason for her best friend's grumpiness. "What went wrong?"

"Ugh. Just…" Amu breathed in a deep breath before continuing. "Just UGH!"

"Japanese please."

Ran quickly flew to the bottom of the phone and screamed with barely contained excitement. "Amu's got a date with another guy!"

"Ran!"

"Amu?!" Rima's voice was clearly surprised. Little did Amu know that her blonde friend was currently raising both eyebrows in an expression of shock and respect.

"You see my problem?" The flustered girl grumbled into the phone as she swept her hand in the air to get a whack at Ran (or at the very least, scare her from ever blurting out things she didn't want others to hear).

"Amu…that's…"

The girl cringed, waiting for her pompous friend to chide her.

"…That's PERFECT!" But instead, Rima practically squealed uncharacteristically with delight. Forcing the corners of her mouth down, the blonde controlled herself just enough to maintain her usual tone. "I mean, that is quite impressive Amu. You've thought ahead better than I thought."

Amu brought the phone slightly away from her face and stared at it in confusion. Did Rima just compliment her? And did she just approve – cross that- _encourage_ her to go on a date with another guy?

"It's the perfect way to get Tsukiyomi-san jealous. If you can't make him a man servant, you might as well find another one to help you."

Amu rolled her eyes. That made sense. Of course, leave it to Rima to praise her for manipulating a guy. She sighed, already disliking the words she had not yet said. "So Rima, what do you suggest man servant #1 do for me?"

"Good girl. Already learning."

Amu's normally cheerful face contorted into one of disgust.

"Well before that, I suggest you find some alternate methods to play on his cat nature if the dress didn't work. I believe that Mr. Tsukiyomi will be paying you a visit tonight..."

"And why do you think that?" Amu immediately cut in, her voice slightly louder than she had intended. Jumping in place from all the strange looks she received from the others in the store, she quickly lowered her head and shielded her hand around the phone.

"Just a feeling." For some reason, that tone gave her a sense of foreboding. Nothing good ever came from Rima's scheming tone. It was, in fact, the one that had gotten Amu in this mess to begin with.

"Rima…what are you planning?"

"Oh, nothing Amu. Nothing at all." _Liar_

"…"

"Just make sure that you get some supplies before getting home. So you're ready for his visit."

"…I'm already on it. I…was planning to do some research with the cats here." Amu began hesitantly, not at all certain if her best friend had somehow planned for all of this to happen.

"Good! You catch on much more quickly than I'd have thought. But you don't need the cats to know what to get. Just make sure you get what I tell you." With those words, Rima began her list of feline essentials, dubbed the "Make Catman fall in love with you kit."

As Amu listened, her eyes grew wide with horror. "W-What are w-we going to do with that?"

"Relax. Just make sure you test everything else on him tonight first. We'll use that one as a last resort."

"No."

"Amu…"

"No!"

She heard Rima sigh on the other line. "Amu, look down at your chest."

"R-RIMA!"

"Now that that's settled, let's get to the matter of this Akio…"

It took every once of her strength to not wring her pink phone in frustration, but Rima had won and she knew it. The only way to compete with those other girls with impressively well developed bodies and who threw themselves at Ikuto, was to make use of those cat features that only she knew about. And by god, Amu promised she was going to make it _her _advantage.

Walking through the aisle, her hands ran across the rows of cat toys on the top shelf. She caught the myriad of pet products with her cart, wearing a devilish grin that would have surprised even her had she seen herself at that moment.

Let those girls try. Hinamori Amu wouldn't lose so easily.


End file.
